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Show Page 2 The Ogden Valley news Volume XIX Issue XXIV January 15, 2012 The Ogden Valley news Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 801-745-2688 Fax: 801-745-0062 Cell: 801-791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@digis.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 801-745-2879 Fax: 801-745-2879 E-Mail: crwendell@digis.net crwendell@msn.com Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The Ogden Valley news. guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the writer submitted. The Ogden Valley news reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The Ogden V alley n ews will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell & homecoming and Eagle Scout announcements free of charge. We invite residents to send their announcements to: The Ogden Valley news PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 If you would like your submitted items returned, please send a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. The Ogden Valley news , while respecting all property received, will take no responsibility for lost or misplaced items. Please remember to keep a copy for yourself. Invitation for Articles The staff of The Ogden Valley news welcomes the submission of articles by our readership. We invite you to submit local historical accounts or biographies, articles pertaining to contemporary issues, and/or other material that may be of interest to our readers. We also invite you to submit to the paper, or notify the staff of local events. Awards that have been earned by the reader, family members, neighbors or friends are also sought. While the staff of The Ogden Valley news invites the submittal of information and articles, we reserve the right to select which material will be considered for publication. All material, to be considered, must be submitted with the full name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the material. The OgdenValley news’liability on account of errors in, or omissions of, advertising shall in no event exceed the amount of charges for the advertising omitted or the space occupied by the error. The Ogden Valley news does not endorse, promote or encourage the purchase or sale of any product or service advertised in this newspaper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The Ogden Valley news hereby disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any advertisement in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news is not responsible for any claims or representations made in advertisements in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news has the sole authority to edit and locate any classified advertisement as deemed appropriate. It also reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Note: The contents of The Ogden Valley News are copyrighted. To protect this publication and its contributors from unlawful copying, written permission is required before any individual or company engages in the reproduction or distribution of its contents, by any means, without first obtaining written permission from the owners of this publication. The deadline for the OVN February 1 issue is January 18. Letters to the Editor Christmas Gift Appreciated Anonymous Gift Appreciated I would like to write and sincerely thank those who sent a generous amount of money to me, wrapped within a folded piece of paper, on Christmas Day. I would like the donor(s) to know how much it was appreciated Recently, I was the recipient of a very generous, anonymous gift. Thank you . . . to the kind and thoughtful donors. The wonderful gift was a true answer to prayers, and was received with sincere heartfelt thanks; I appreciate it more than words can express. Wishing you blessings unmeasured. Pat Roylance, Huntsville L. M. Gratitude Expressed to the Community “What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?” -- George Elliot We want to express our sincere gratitude to those who have taken the time and care to help us enjoy the best Christmas season ever. We were amazed daily as we found gifts for us that lightened our load and made things in life a bit easier. We can guess, but will never know, who all were involved in this project. We hope you see this note and know that we are grateful. It is a wonderful blessing to have such good people around us. We feel loved and lifted as I hope you do, for in serving us you have served the Lord. May you all have a blessed and wonderful New Year! Love, Dr. Lew and Gina Harper, Liberty Weber County Commissioners Vote Unanimously for New Ordinance Regarding Heliports On Tuesday, January 3, 2012, the three Weber County Commissioners voted unanimously to codify changes in the Weber County Zoning Ordinances that govern the siting of Heliports in Ogden Valley. These new ordinances will help to protect the lifestyle of Ogden Valley residents while simultaneously maintaining the opportunity of helicopter-based businesses to be established and to grow in the valley. These new ordinances should be posted soon on Weber County’s web site. These are some of the main points of the new laws: l “Heliport” has been removed from CV-2 Zones in Ogden Valley. l l l l Heliports may operate only as private commercial facilities, not for use as general public-access heliports. Heliports will be conditionally permitted only above 6,200 feet in elevation. Heliports will be conditionally permitted only in DRR-1 (resort) Zones or F-40 (forest) Zones. All heliports will need to have set backs from property lines, have appropriate surfaces, and necessary FAA approvals. The establishment of these ordinances is a huge deal. There are many areas of the country where the use of commercial helicopters in residential or business areas have become very problematic. Safety, noise, lighting, dust con- trol, and other issues are often extremely hard to mitigate while preserving businesses’ private property rights and the rights of businesses to successfully operate. Thanks to much work and long efforts on the part of our Ogden Valley Planning Commission, Sean Wilkinson in the County Planning Office, and many dedicated Ogden Valley residents, and thanks to the recent vote of the Weber County Commissioners, we now have in place a set of ordinances that go a long way toward balancing the needs of Ogden Valley residents and the needs of potential Ogden Valley helicopter-based businesses. Lee Schussman, Eden Guest Commentary GOP Will Lose in 2012, Unless . . . which would doom GOP chances of winning tration the words “ineptocracy” and “thugoc- Now that the first quarter of political “flag football” is in the books and winners and losers have been sorted out in Iowa, it’s time to move on to more meaningful contests. The ruckus in the caucus state was more about “face time” and “grip and grin” opportunities with the folks, but served a useful purpose. All y’all Paul supporters can be proud of Ron’s run even though he has no chance of being the GOP candidate. Paul is a consistent supporter of fiscal responsibility but some of his other views leave us scratching our heads. The next GOP presidential candidate will be under seventy, will have broad experience, and will appeal to conservatives, as well as moderates and independents. Representative Paul has none of these attributes. In addition to party cohesiveness, the GOP faces other problems. There is plenty to be concerned about before the November election. Sure, it’s early and there’s no need to reveal all of their strategy for the Presidential race, but the preliminaries seem to be more confusing than clarifying. There was so much fuss made over the Iowa caucus, which supposedly gives an indication of future outcomes, but, in fact, has only a 50-50 success record, at best. The state has comparatively few electoral votes and it’s a wonder many of the candidates invest time there. A wiser use of candidates’ time and the Party’s time would be developing a cohesive message and a strategy to win the White House. Perhaps the greatest concern should be Party unity. It remains to be seen if various factions among Republicans can come together behind the eventual candidate. There is opportunity for a split or even a third party candidate, the Presidency. Other areas of concern are: the influence of bias in the main stream media (MSM) on voters, an unforeseen international crisis that helps a sitting president, and the fact that independents and moderates won’t support an extreme right candidate. The GOP has limited ability to affect MSM, but can work to prevent a repeat of the 2008 “lemming-like” response of the MSM to candidate Barack Obama. It is now a proven fact that, as president, he is merely human. A more subtle bias in the MSM is expected this time by news anchors and “journalists” who support the Obama administration. A repeat of the media’s 2008 love affair with the Democratic candidate would just be down-right “tacky.” Networks will hopefully use a little caution in how they slant the news and, at least, a modicum of objectivity. Opinions should be labeled as such and not as news. They must have a plan to overcome media bias and respond to preferential treatment; they must have an aggressive campaign to track media bias and let the American public know of the dangers of same. Most of us would rather make our own choices rather than have the media make it for us. Statements about the ability of any Republican candidate being better than Obama and that they could defeat him may sound good, and, while possibly true, may not be realistic. A victory for Republicans is not a “Fait accompli,” to use an elitist term; or in good old American, “a done deal” – true story! It’s of small comfort that during the current adminis- racy” have been coined. Far more important is that the GOP put forth solid and sensible plans for the future of this country. The GOP must be able to articulate the shortcomings of the Obama Administration without being personal. They must have a message based on American values that the whole country can identify with. They would do well to take a lesson from Newt Gingrich and make the most of limited funds. The right message will do more for the GOP than bucket loads of campaign cash. They must call the Democrats on false statements and distortions of fact. Most importantly, they must be united behind the best candidate, and not concerned about finding the “perfect” candidate. “Perfection” was found in ’08 by Liberal Democrats, and found wanting by the rest of us. Of all the hoopla, slogans, speeches, sound bites, and gotcha moments that came out of the Iowa caucus, the most honest and relevant is three little words, “BELIEVE IN AMERICA,” thanks to Mitt Romney. These words cause us to remember our American Spirit, an attribute that has helped us overcome a number of calamities, disasters, and conflicts. This reflects the reality that America is a center-right country. If the GOP can work like they know this and work together cohesively, they will win in November, and so will the country. John W. Reynolds, Pleasant View |